You currently have javascript disabled. Several functions may not work. Please re-enable javascript to access full functionality.

Register a free account to unlock additional features at BleepingComputer.com

Welcome to BleepingComputer, a free community where people like yourself come together to discuss and learn how to use their computers. Using the site is easy and fun. As a guest, you can browse and view the various discussions in the forums, but can not create a new topic or reply to an existing one unless you are logged in. Other benefits of registering an account are subscribing to topics and forums, creating a blog, and having no ads shown anywhere on the site.

XP infected with possible rootkit/ pops up browser windows

A couple days ago my computer (Toshiba Satellite laptop running Windows XP) contracted some kind of virus/ malware. It ran a process named "vjq.exe", redirected Google searches, and popped up various windows starting with "9newstoday". It also bumped CPU usage up to 90-100%,

I killed the process and removed all references to it in the registry, then ran Malwarebytes, Hitman, and Microsoft Security Essentials. These returned an assortment of messages that they had removed various Trojans (I'm sorry, I didn't record which ones because I thought it was fixed... silly me). I uninstalled and reinstalled Firefox as well. However, the popups are still occurring intermittently. The CPU usage issue seems to be resolved.

(Then I backed up all my files.)

I looked through the Spyware and Malware Removal Self-Help Guide and did not see this issue; this post references a similar issue. I then ran DeFogger, DDS, and GMER.

DDS log is below; two other files attached as per instructions.

Thank you so much for your help! I'm at my wits' end, too poor to buy a new computer, and about ready to type FORMAT C:

My name is Gringo and I'll be glad to help you with your computer problems.

Somethings to remember while we are working together.

Do not run any other tool untill instructed to do so!

please Do not Attach logs or put in code boxes.

Tell me about any problems that have occurred during the fix.

Tell me of any other symptoms you may be having as these can help also.

Do not run anything while running a fix.

Do not run any other tool untill instructed to do so!

Click on the Watch Topic Button and select Immediate Notification and click on proceed, this will help you to get notified faster when I have replied and make the cleaning process faster.

Please print out or make a copy in notpad of any instructions given, as sometimes it is necessary to go offline and you will lose access to them.

Run Combofix:

You may be asked to install or update the Recovery Console(Win XP Only) if this happens please allow it to do so (you will need to be connected to the internet for this)

Before you run Combofix I will need you to turn off any security software you have running, If you do not know how to do this you can find out >here< or >here<

Combofix may need to reboot your computer more than once to do its job this is normal.

You can download Combofix from one of these links.Link 1Link 2Link 31. Close any open browsers or any other programs that are open.2. Close/disable all anti virus and anti malware programs so they do not interfere with the running of ComboFix.

Double click on combofix.exe & follow the prompts. When finished, it will produce a report for you.

Note 1: Do not mouseclick combofix's window while it's running. That may cause it to stall

Note 2: If you recieve an error "Illegal operation attempted on a registery key that has been marked for deletion." Please restart the computer

"information and logs"

In your next post I need the following

Log from Combofix

let me know of any problems you may have had

How is the computer doing now?

Gringo

I Close My Topics If You Have Not Replied In 5 Days If You Will Be Longer Please Let Me Know

If I Have Not Replied To One Of My Topics In 48 Hrs Please Bump The Topic

My help is free, however, if you wish to make a small donation to show your appreciation or to help me continue the fight against Malware, then click here --><-- Don't worry every little bit helps.

Per your instructions, I disabled the firewall and all AV programs, installed Recovery Console, and ran Combofix twice.

Summary: Combofix displays popups saying 1) the computer is infected with Rootkit.ZeroAccess in the tcp/ip stack and 2) Rootkit activity is detected. Running Combofix again causes the same messages to display.

Log from first run follows. I ran a diff vs. the second run log and they were identical except the program snapshot was not present in the second one.

doubleclick on TDSSKiller.exe to run the application, then on Start Scan.

If an infected file is detected, the default action will be Cure, click on Continue.

If a suspicious file is detected, the default action will be Skip, click on Continue.

It may ask you to reboot the computer to complete the process. Click on Reboot Now.

If no reboot is require, click on Report. A log file should appear. Please copy and paste the contents of that file here.

If a reboot is required, the report can also be found in your root directory, (usually C:\ folder) in the form of "TDSSKiller.[Version]_[Date]_[Time]_log.txt". Please copy and paste the contents of that file here.

Gringo

I Close My Topics If You Have Not Replied In 5 Days If You Will Be Longer Please Let Me Know

If I Have Not Replied To One Of My Topics In 48 Hrs Please Bump The Topic

My help is free, however, if you wish to make a small donation to show your appreciation or to help me continue the fight against Malware, then click here --><-- Don't worry every little bit helps.

These logs are looking allot better. But we still have some work to do.

Please print out these instructions, or copy them to a Notepad file. It will make it easier for you to follow the instructions and complete all of the necessary steps..

uninstall some programs

NOTE** Because of the cleanup process some of the programs I have listed may not be in add/remove anymore this is fine just move to the next item on the list.

1. click on start2. then go to settings3. after that you need control panel4. look for the icon add/remove programsclick on the following programs

Adobe Reader 9.4.7

and click on remove

Update Adobe Reader

Recently there have been vulnerabilities detected in older versions of Adobe Reader. It is strongly suggested that you update to the current version.

You can download it from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.htmlAfter installing the latest Adobe Reader, uninstall all previous versions.If you already have Adobe Photoshop® Album Starter Edition installed or do not wish to have it installed UNcheck the box which says Also Download Adobe Photoshop® Album Starter Edition.

If you don't like Adobe Reader (53 MB), you can download Foxit PDF Reader(7 MB) from here. It's a much smaller file to download and uses a lot less resources than Adobe Reader.

Note: When installing FoxitReader, be careful not to install anything to do with AskBar.[/list]

Note:Save your work. TFC will automatically close any open programs, let it run uninterrupted. It shouldn't take longer take a couple of minutes, and may only take a few seconds. Only if needed will you be prompted to reboot.

: Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware :

I would like you to rerun MBAM

Double-click mbam icon

go to the update tab at the top

click on check for updates

If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version.

Once the program has loaded, select Perform quick scan, then click Scan.

When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results.

Be sure that everything is Checked (ticked) except items in the C:\System Volume Information folder and click on Remove Selected.

When completed, a log will open in Notepad. please copy and paste the log into your next reply

If you accidentally close it, the log file is saved here and will be named like this:

Note: If MBAM encounters a file that is difficult to remove, you will be presented with 1 of 2 prompts.Click OK to either and let MBAM proceed with the disinfection process.If asked to restart the computer, please do so immediately. Failure to reboot will prevent MBAM from removing all the malware.

Download HijackThis

If you have any problems running Hijackthis see NOTE** below (Host file not read, blank notepad ...)

Double-click on the HijackThis Installer icon on your desktop. (Vista and Win 7 right click and run as admin)

By default it will install to C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HijackThis .

Click on Install.

It will create a HijackThis icon on the desktop.

Once installed it will launch Hijackthis.

Click on the Do a system scan and save a log file button. It will scan and the log should open in notepad.

Click on Edit > Select All then click on Edit > Copy to copy the entire contents of the log.

Come back here to this thread and Paste the log in your next reply.

DO NOT use the Analyze This button its findings are dangerous if misinterpreted.

DO NOT have Hijackthis fix anything yet. Most of what it finds will be harmless or even required.

NOTE**sometimes we have to run it like this To run HijackThis as an administrator, right-click HijackThis.exe(located: C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HiJackThis\HiJackThis.exe)<--32bit(located: C:\Program Files(86)\Trend Micro\HiJackThis\HiJackThis.exe)<--64bitand select to run as administrator

"information and logs"

In your next post I need the following

Log From MBAM

report from Hijackthis

let me know of any problems you may have had

How is the computer doing now?

Gringo

I Close My Topics If You Have Not Replied In 5 Days If You Will Be Longer Please Let Me Know

If I Have Not Replied To One Of My Topics In 48 Hrs Please Bump The Topic

My help is free, however, if you wish to make a small donation to show your appreciation or to help me continue the fight against Malware, then click here --><-- Don't worry every little bit helps.

1) I uninstalled Acrobat Reader and installed the new version2) I installed Java3) I ran TFC4) I ran MBAM and the log follows5) The computer seems to be running well so far and I haven't had any more popups. It also hasn't uninstalled my touchpad driver again.

These logs are looking very good, we are almost done!!! Just one more scan to go.

:Remove unneeded start-up entries:

This part of the fix is purely optionalThese are programs that start up when you turn on your computer but don't need to be, any of these programs you can click on their icons (or start from the control panel) and start the program when you need it. By stopping these programs you will boot up faster and your computer will work faster.

If you have any problems running Hijackthis see NOTE** below (Host file not read, blank notepad ...)

NOTE**You can research each of those lines >here< and see if you want to keep them or not
just copy the name between the brackets and paste into the search space
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [IntelliPoint]

NOTE**sometimes we have to run it like this To run HijackThis as an administrator, right-click HijackThis.exe (located: C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HiJackThis\HiJackThis.exe)<--32bit(located: C:\Program Files(86)\Trend Micro\HiJackThis\HiJackThis.exe)<--64bitand select to run as administrator

Eset Online Scanner

**Note** You will need to use Internet explorer for this scan - Vista and win 7 right click on IE shortcut and run as admin